Iperstoria is a multilingual, international, blind peer-reviewed biannual journal (ISSN 2281-4582) with a focus on English and American Studies. http://www.iperstoria.it

CALL FOR PAPERS

The history of the relationship between “America” and photography is one of mutual reference and construction. From Poe and Hawthorne’s interest for the new medium in its stylistic as well as social, even political implications, to Henry James’s photography-informed speculations on the flattening, almost indistinct quality of the (democratic) American scene when contrasted with the European one, to Susan Sontag’s definition of America as the “quintessential Surrealist” and hence most “photographic” country – the way we perceive and define “America” has been substantially informed not only by photographs themselves, but also by what we consider – while the medium inevitably undergoes technical transformations, and photographic style and products change over time – as intrinsically or quintessentially photographic. The obverse of this statement is also valid: the history of photography is informed by “America”, to the extent that conceptual items and material practices often associated with “America”– such as, for instance, the idea of a democratic vision and encompassing representativeness – have also influenced the way we conceive of photography. We invite contributions on how photography – in/by itself or (re)mediated by other codes and media such as literature, cinema, comics, and more – accompanies or creates various ways of conceiving of “America”; and/or on how the way we regard photography is (paraphrasing Bourdieu while turning him on his head) validated by “American” categories. Within this framework, “America” oscillates between a real entity (which can be captured by the camera) and a floating signifier (orienting the camera in its relationship to its referents). Related (sub)topics may include, while not being limited to: America and the history of photography American literature and photography Photo-informed representations of America in other literatures / cultures Photography, modernism, and postmodernism Photography, reality, and realism Photography, class, and democracy Photography and cultural identity Intermediality and photography

Deadline for proposals to editors (title and abstract, max. 250 words): February 15, 2018 Notification of acceptance: February 20, 2018 Essay due to editors: April 5, 2018 Submitted essays will undergo a peer-review process. Contributions (max. 35.000 characters, spaces included) can be in English or Italian. Please refer to the Iperstoria website for stylesheet: http://www.iperstoria.it/joomla/contributi